UNION, N.J. — Cortland turned two fumble recoveries into short touchdown drives and the Red Dragons rallied to defeat Kean University, 21-14, on the road in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game. Cortland won its third straight game and is now 3-4 overall and 3-2 in the league.
Junior John Grassi (Oceanside) finished 21-of-36 passing for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Junior K.J. Zinermon (Buffalo/Sweet Home) caught nine passes for 55 yards and a score and sophomore Jon Mannix (Elwood/John H. Glenn) finished with six catches for 88 yards and a TD, along with a two-point conversion reception.
Junior Shane Cronin (West Nyack/Clarkstown South) made 23-yard and 20-yard field goals in the first half. He also averaged 39 yards per punt, with five of his eight kicks pinning Kean inside the 20-yard line.
Senior Gabe Ostrow (Nanuet) recorded the sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery that set up game-tying touchdown late in the first half. Senior Andrew Tolosi (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) recovered a fumble late in the third quarter that led to the winning score. Tyler Anderson (Sayville) led Cortland with eight tackles, seven solo, with two for losses, and he broke up a pass.
Kean (2-5, 2-2 NJAC) recorded its opening score on an Austin Davis (Cliffwood, NJ/Matawan) 60-yard interception return in the first quarter and took a 14-6 lead midway through the second quarter on Robert Meade's (Colonia, NJ/Bishop Ahr) 34-yard TD pass to Jonathan Schmitt (Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park). Meade finished 19-of-40 passing for 126 yards and Brandon Robinson (Ocean Township, NJ) caught nine passes for 56 yards. Stephan Lewis (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) and Nick Gjoni (Secaucus, NJ) led the Cougars with seven tackles apiece.
Cortland drove 86 yards to the Kean 5-yard line on its second possession of the game before settling for a Cronin 23-yard field goal. On the Red Dragons' next series, Davis picked off Grassi and returned the ball 60 yards for a TD and Kean led 7-3.
Late in the first quarter, the Red Dragons started a drive on their own 29-yard line but quickly moved downfield on a Mannix 19-yard catch, a Dylan Peebles (Port Leyden/South Lewis) 29-yard run and a Layton Lassiter (Madison, NJ) 20-yard reception on three consecutive plays. Peebles finished with 71 yards on 20 rushes. With 1st-and-goal at the Kean 3-yard line, Cortland stalled after two runs and an incomplete pass and Cronin made a 20-yard field goal to draw the Red Dragons to within one at 7-6.
Kean's best drive of the day started on its own 15-yard line with 10:23 left in the first half. Meade hit Robinson for a 48-yard completion on 3rd-and-12 from the 13-yard line, and two plays later he found Schmitt for a 34-yard TD pass and a 14-6 lead.
Late in the half, Cronin's 45-yard punt stuck the Cougars at their own 5-yard line. On 3rd-and-7, Ostrow sacked Meade, forced a fumble and recovered the ball at the 5 with 2:04 left. Cortland was flagged for holding on its first snap, but Grassi hit Mannix for a 15-yard TD pass on the next play. He then threw a 2-point pass to Mannix to tie the score at 14-14.
Two of Cortland's third-quarter possessions resulted in missed field goals by Cronin from 45 and 42 yards. Kean, however, was unable to move the ball into Cortland territory during the quarter, and a fumble by Robinson after a reception was recovered by Tolosi at the Kean 10-yard line with 21 seconds left in the period.
A Kean penalty moved the ball to the 5-yard line on the opening snap, and on the first play of the fourth quarter Grassi hit Zinermon for a 5-yard TD and Cortland took a 21-14 lead.
The Cougars drove to the Cortland 28-yard line on their next series before turning the ball over on downs. They punted on their next possession, and their final drive ended at the Red Dragon 38-yard line on a fourth-down sack by Troy Beddoe (Endicott/Union-Endicott).
Cortland outgained Kean in total offense, 349-236, despite running two fewer plays than the Cougars and possessing the ball for only 26:41 to Kean's 33:19.
Cortland will host NJAC leader Montclair State next Saturday at 1 p.m. and Kean will travel to TCNJ Saturday. Montclair improved to 4-0 in NJAC play with a 20-16 home win over Rowan.